Latest / Enjoying the Journey / The Weekend Pulpit: For Love's Sake

Transcript

The Weekend Pulpit: For Love's Sake · Enjoying the Journey

0:10
There is no substitute for the preaching and teaching of God's Word.
0:14
Each weekday on Enjoying the Journey, Scott Pauley leads us
0:18
in a brief study of Scripture. Today on The Weekend Pulpit,
0:22
we are happy to share a full-length Bible message given through
0:26
Scott's pulpit ministry. These messages were recorded
0:30
live in a local church or gospel event in recent days.
0:34
It is our prayer that the message will be a help to you today.
0:52
I want you to take the Word of God with me and turn in the
0:55
New Testament to the book of Philemon. And if you were in the meeting this
0:58
morning, you know where we are. And we're going to pick up right where we
1:01
left off in this amazing little book. One page in your
1:05
Bible. That's it. 25 verses. A Note to a Friend
1:09
it is. And we began our study of this little book this morning
1:13
by looking at the first 7 verses. And we talked about the
1:16
church in thy house. Aren't you glad to be a part of a New Testament
1:20
church? Look, there's nothing in the world like it. There is nothing like
1:24
the New Testament church. You don't need to find something to join, to be a
1:27
part of. You're already a part of the greatest thing going on on planet Earth.
1:31
And that is the work of God in this world. Now I don't know if
1:35
you noticed it or not this morning, but did you notice that the book opens
1:39
with 5 people and closes with 5 people?
1:42
It's interesting. And by the way, everybody's got a story
1:45
to tell. I'm looking around this room tonight. Everybody here has
1:49
a story. You just heard a story of a man from another part of the
1:53
world, but the truth of the matter is everybody's got their story. For example,
1:56
look in verse number 1. What's the first name in verse 1?
2:00
You talk about a story! How about the story of the Apostle Paul?
2:04
What a story it is! A story of God's divine intervention
2:07
in his life. And then you've got his son and brother in the ministry,
2:11
a fellow by the name of Timothy, and how God used him.
2:14
2 books of your New Testament are written from Paul to Timothy. Then in
2:18
verse number 1, you've got Philemon, whose name is on this
2:22
particular letter. It's addressed to him. He's a man that
2:25
is not a preacher as far as we know, but the church met in his
2:28
living room. The church met in his house because the church was in his
2:32
heart. And then in verse number 2, you've got his wife, Apphia,
2:36
and his son, Archippus. If you study Colossians chapter 4, you find out that
2:40
Archippus is a minister of the gospel. And so many people believe that his son
2:43
was the preacher of the church, or at least a preacher of a congregation near
2:47
to the church at Colossae. Then you come down to the end of the book
2:51
in verse number 23, you've got a fellow by the name of Epaphras. And if
2:55
you read in Colossians chapter 4 comparing scripture with scripture, you find out this is
2:59
a praying man. Oh, may God multiply the Epaphrases in our midst.
3:04
A man who knew how to get a hold of God and pray intercessory
3:07
way. And then in verse number 24, you got a fellow by the name of
3:11
Marcus. That's none less than John Mark.
3:15
You remember John Mark who went on a missionary trip?
3:18
He was all excited about the adventure of it and he got out there and
3:22
decided it was better back home at mama's house than it was on the missionary
3:24
journey. And he goes home. But praise God, God gave him
3:27
a second chance. Are you glad God gives second chances? And at the
3:31
end of Paul's life, interestingly enough— you remember this when we come to this word
3:35
in a moment— the Apostle Paul wrote and said, bring him with thee, for he's
3:38
profitable to me for the ministry. Aren't you glad God allows
3:43
people who fail to come home? Then you're introduced
3:47
to a fellow by the name of Aristarchus, another one of Paul's prison mates.
3:51
He was in prison with Paul for preaching the gospel. And then there's Demas.
3:54
Oh, what a sad story is Demas. Every church has a Demas.
3:59
That's right. Every congregation somewhere has a Demas in it,
4:02
a man or a woman that was there in the fellowship but somewhere forsook
4:06
all of that and went back to the world. Some of you know somebody that's
4:10
away from the Lord. How many got somebody on your heart right now? Would you
4:13
breathe a prayer right now from your heart to God? Right now. Just pray,
4:15
O Lord, bring Demas back. Lord, bring Demas home.
4:20
Aren't you glad the name of Marcus and Demas are found in the same verse?
4:23
Listen to me, friend. It is possible to come back home.
4:27
And then there is this amazing name,
4:30
Lucas. The exact opposite of Demas. You remember when Paul
4:33
nears the end of his life and ministry, he's in a prison cell and he
4:38
writes to Timothy and he says these words, only Only Luke is
4:41
with me. Luke is mentioned last here. This is the beloved
4:46
physician. Dr. Luke. He was there till the end. I don't know
4:50
about you. I'd like to be that— that to be my story. I want to
4:53
be faithful to the very end. But now watch, please. Like bookends
4:57
on the book. It begins with 5 church members and it ends with
5:01
5 church members. And then there's one other church member that we're introduced
5:05
to in the book. And he's actually the main character of the book. Interestingly enough,
5:08
the main character is not Philemon. The main character is a runaway slave
5:13
by the name of Onesimus. The whole story— let
5:17
me just stop. How many of you read Philemon already today? Would you raise your
5:20
hand? Very good. You did your homework. And if you haven't yet, do it tonight
5:23
before you go to bed and read it again tomorrow before you come to the
5:26
evening meeting tomorrow. Because if you read this little chapter, this little book
5:30
of Philemon, the context of the story is very interesting.
5:33
It's a story of a man that was a servant in Philemon's household.
5:37
Now many people believe Philemon was pretty well-to-do. He probably had quite a staff of
5:41
people working for him. But Onesimus did something he's not supposed to do.
5:45
He ran away. Probably stole some money on his way out the door
5:49
and he snuck away unawares. And he traveled and he got as far
5:53
away from Colossae as he could possibly get. How many of you know you can't
5:56
get away from God? God is not bound by geography and the Lord chases
6:01
you. Surely goodness and mercy She'll follow you all the days of your
6:04
life. And he shows up in a place called Rome. Surely you can
6:08
hide out in Rome. It'd be like saying, I'm gonna run to Miami, or I'm
6:13
gonna go to New York City. I'm gonna find one of these great metropolitan areas
6:15
and I'm just gonna get lost. You ever know somebody just moved to
6:19
an area just to kind of get lost, to escape it all? Let me tell
6:23
you something, you can move anywhere on earth you want to
6:26
go, but God still has his eye on you. And God
6:30
does have his people in every place. And I love to see the divine appointment.
6:34
Oh, the wonderful sovereignty and providence of God at work directing
6:38
in all of these things. Because Onesimus shows up in
6:41
Rome and somehow— we don't know the details. We don't know how.
6:44
And I'm not going to speculate. But somehow, some way, he either gets thrown
6:49
in jail with the Apostle Paul or somebody introduces him to the Apostle Paul.
6:53
He meets the greatest preacher in the New Testament era.
6:56
Outside the Lord Jesus while he's running from God,
7:00
while he's running from Philemon, while he's running from where he's supposed
7:03
to be. And there the Apostle Paul tells him about Jesus.
7:07
By the way, the greatest day of my life was the day somebody told me
7:10
about Jesus. I was born again. And the day that Philemon—
7:14
excuse me, Onesimus heard about the Lord Jesus Christ, he was saved.
7:18
God changed his life. But now wait a minute, we got a problem.
7:22
Because Onesimus has come to God, but he's still away from Philemon.
7:25
He's stolen and he's run away. Did you know a runaway slave in that day
7:29
could be put to death? That's right. He's traveling without papers.
7:32
He has no reason to be there. He's in real danger.
7:36
And the Apostle Paul looks at him one day and says, now let
7:39
me ask you, where'd you come from? How'd you get here? He said, well,
7:43
I got a master back in Colossae by the name of Philemon.
7:47
Don't you know Paul's face lit up when he said that? Because did you
7:51
know that Philemon somehow had come to faith in Christ through the ministry
7:55
of the Apostle Paul? Isn't that just like the Lord? And the
7:59
Lord puts Paul in Onesimus' path.
8:02
I imagine Paul must have winked and said, I'm gonna write a letter for you.
8:07
I think we can get this all worked out. He takes pen in hand
8:10
and under inspiration of the Spirit of God, he writes a letter that's bigger
8:14
than Onesimus. Praise God, it's for every one of us. Let's pick
8:18
up the reading of the letter. Look and find him in verse number 8.
8:19
Wherefore, Though I might be much bold in Christ
8:24
to enjoin thee that which is convenient, yet for
8:28
love's sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one
8:32
as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus
8:36
Christ. By the way, that Paul the aged, that's a very relative term,
8:40
isn't it? I used to say frequently,
8:43
I'm a young person. I'm a young preacher. My wife told me not long ago,
8:46
you probably should stop saying that now because to the young people you're not young
8:49
anymore. The Apostle Paul was about 60 years of age
8:53
when he wrote this and he refers to himself as Paul the aged.
8:57
Now look at verse 10: I beseech thee for my
9:00
son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in
9:04
my bonds, which in time past was to thee
9:07
unprofitable, but now profitable
9:12
to thee and to me, whom I have sent again. Thou therefore
9:16
receive him, that is, mine own bowels whom I would have retained with
9:19
me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of
9:22
the gospel. But without thy mind would I do nothing, that thy benefit should
9:26
not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.
9:29
For perhaps he therefore departed for a season,
9:33
that thou shouldest receive him forever, not now as a servant,
9:37
but above a servant, a brother beloved,
9:41
especially to me, but how much more
9:44
unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
9:48
If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as
9:52
myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee aught,
9:57
put that on mine account. I, Paul, have written
10:02
it with mine own hand. I will repay it,
10:05
albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me,
10:09
even thine own self besides.
10:15
I just got to tell you, just reading this does my heart good.
10:19
Somebody says, well, that's an amazing story about Onesimus! Friend,
10:22
this is not just Onesimus' story. This is my story!
10:26
This is your story! Isn't it wonderful when you open the Bible and find
10:30
yourself there? You're in there! That's exactly right!
10:34
You're in the letter to Philemon hundreds of years
10:38
ago! You're in this story! You see, the story
10:42
of Onesimus is a story of redemption and restoration.
10:46
I have a song I love to sing since I have been redeemed
10:50
of my Redeemer, Savior, King. Since I
10:54
have been redeemed, it's a story of the beautiful grace
10:58
of God. It's a, it's a picture of what only the Lord can do.
11:02
It's a portrait of the beauty that God brings
11:05
out of the ashes. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
11:09
he's a new creature. Old things are passed away,
11:12
all things are become new. See, everything changed
11:17
for Onesimus on the day he met Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.
11:22
And how did it happen? Well, I want to bring you a 3-word sermon
11:25
tonight. How many of you would like to hear a 3-word sermon? Some of you
11:28
are saying, Hallelujah! We've been praying for one of those! Be careful,
11:33
it's— they're big words. Would you go back in verse number 9
11:36
and mark these 3 words in your Bible: for love's
11:41
sake. Would you say those words with me, please? For love's
11:45
sake. Say it again, please. For love's sake.
11:49
Turn to your neighbor and tell them what I'm preaching on tonight, would you please?
11:52
For love's sake. No, no, no. I want you to preach it like Baptists,
11:56
not like Presbyterians. Alright? Look at them again. Say it with enthusiasm.
11:59
Here we go. For love's sake. Maybe it'll help you point it at that
12:03
sinner next to you. Use your preaching finger. You ladies know you have one.
12:06
Point at that sinner next to you. Tell them what I'm preaching on. Ready?
12:09
What is it? For love's sake. Now when I'm done,
12:13
most of what I'm gonna say you're not gonna remember. But I want you to
12:16
remember 3 words. As a matter of fact, tomorrow night if I come back to
12:19
you and say, what did we talk about last night? I want you to say—
12:21
good. If I call your house at 3
12:25
o'clock in the morning, I want you to say— that's exactly right.
12:29
Because this is what it's all about. After you say,
12:33
why are you calling my house at 3 o'clock in the morning? Right? You see,
12:37
for love's sake! This is the message of Philemon! This is the
12:41
message of the Bible! This is the message the whole world needs to hear!
12:45
This is what your missions conference is about! This is why this church
12:49
exists! For love's
12:52
sake! There's a lot of motions and mechanics
12:57
about church work and the Christian faith. And if you're not careful,
13:01
it becomes very mechanical. And after a while you find yourself
13:06
just going through the motions. And the Apostle Paul, same man, took pen
13:10
in hand one day and said, if you're not careful, you become like sounding brass
13:14
or tinkling cymbal, just a lot
13:18
of noise. And in the same chapter he said, but there's a
13:22
better way, a more excellent way. The greatest of these is what?
13:28
Charity. Which is just another way of saying, for what?
13:32
For love's sake. I was reading this morning John 13. By the
13:36
way, that's the other great love chapter of the Bible. You ought to read it
13:39
sometime. Not while I'm preaching, but maybe tonight before you go to bed. Read John
13:42
chapter 13 and look at the parallels between John 13 and 1 Corinthians 13.
13:46
Because what 1 Corinthians 13 instructs, John 13 illustrates.
13:50
It's an amazing thing. Because John 13 says of the
13:54
Lord Jesus as he gathered all those disciples around him, including Judas, I would remind
13:55
you. You, including the traitor.
14:00
He gathered all of them around Him at the end. The Bible says,
14:03
having loved His own, hear these words, He loved them unto
14:08
the end. And I just want to stop tonight and say, I sure
14:12
am glad that God loves to the end.
14:16
He doesn't love me because I've— because of what I've done. He doesn't stop loving
14:20
me because of what I've done. You see,
14:23
God doesn't just love. God is love.
14:27
As a matter of fact, in the book of Deuteronomy, he wrote to the nation
14:30
of Israel and said, you think I loved you and chose you because you were
14:33
the largest of all the people? You were the smallest of all the
14:36
people. And then he says this, I loved you because— I love that
14:40
word. Let me tell you why God loves you. He loves you because he can't
14:43
help himself. He loves you because love is his very nature.
14:46
There was never a moment when he started loving you, and there will never
14:50
be a moment that he stops loving you. Look, He could never love you anymore
14:54
and He will never love you any less! God is love!
15:00
But He doesn't just love you, fine layman; He loves Onesimus too.
15:04
He doesn't just love you, American; He loves them all around the world.
15:07
He doesn't just love you, comfortable American Christian; He loves
15:11
the person who's never even heard His name.
15:15
Excuse me, Peter; He doesn't just love you; He loves Judas too.
15:21
For love's sake. And if you boil it all down,
15:25
the great message of the Christian faith is this message.
15:29
It is the one thing that must grip us. It's why the Apostle
15:33
Paul said, the love of Christ constraineth us.
15:37
I'm sorry, I didn't come to give you some rousing speech. I didn't
15:41
come to give you some motivational pep talk. I didn't come try to get you
15:44
emotionally worked up so you'll give more money or do something more. Look,
15:48
no man can do that. But I'm going to tell you something. If Calvary
15:51
ever captures you, if the cross ever gets a hold of you,
15:55
if the love of Jesus Christ ever becomes plain in your soul,
15:59
nobody will have to pump you up and prime you up and pick you up
16:03
and plead with you to do the right thing. You'll be like those apostles that
16:05
say, we cannot help but speak the things that
16:09
we've seen and heard. You see, when it becomes for love's sake,
16:14
It changes everything. And so I would ask you tonight,
16:18
whose love? It's a good question,
16:21
frankly. Was it— was it Paul's love for
16:25
Philemon he's appealing to? Or was it Philemon's
16:29
love for Paul? Was it Paul's love for Onesimus?
16:34
Or was it Philemon's love for Onesimus? Was it
16:37
Paul's love for God? Was it Philemon's
16:41
love for God? Or was it Onesimus' love for God? How many of you are
16:45
confused now? Was it God's love for Paul?
16:49
Was it God's love for Philemon? Was it God's love for Onesimus?
16:53
May I answer the question tonight? Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes!
16:59
Because behind it all, it's always the love of God.
17:02
It never starts with our love for other mankind.
17:06
It always begins with our love for Him. And we love Him because He what?
17:11
He always goes first. He first loved
17:15
us. May I tell you, the only love in this story has to be God's
17:19
love. It's the love that Paul met on the road to Damascus.
17:21
It's a love that Onesimus met in Rome in a prison cell.
17:25
It's the love that Philemon met through the preaching of the Apostle Paul. Look,
17:28
and when the love of God becomes real in your soul,
17:32
when it captures you, suddenly you see the world different.
17:36
And you see sinners different because you begin to see them as souls for whom
17:39
Jesus died. The love of God radically changes everything.
17:43
It is the one thing that transformed churches. And by the way, in John 13,
17:47
that same chapter that says, having loved his own, he loved them unto the end.
17:49
In that same chapter, Jesus looked at his disciples and said, I'm gonna give you
17:53
a new commandment. I imagine they all sat up, took out their pens. Alright,
17:56
Lord, we're ready. A new commandment I give to you. And what was the new
17:59
commandment? Love one another. I gotta tell
18:02
you, I started looking at that and I thought, that's not a new commandment.
18:05
That was given in Leviticus. He said love your neighbor under the Old
18:09
Testament law. How could Jesus say that was a new commandment? Read the rest of
18:14
another even as I have loved you. He said, look, you've never seen love
18:18
like my love. And I'm not asking you to work up some love
18:22
for each other. What I'm asking you to do is realize how much I love
18:25
you and love me in response. And when you love me like you ought to
18:28
love me, with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and
18:31
all your strength, then the love of God will grip your life and
18:36
it'll change the way you love everybody else around you. And in the same
18:39
passage in John chapter 13, Jesus said, by this, by this By this shall
18:44
all men know you're my disciples, when you have love one for another.
18:49
Let me tell you what characterizes this church— the love of Jesus.
18:53
Excuse me, I'm sorry, he did not say, by your music shall all men know
18:56
you're my disciples. Now I like your music. It doesn't get
19:00
much better than it is around here. I'm just gonna tell you that right now.
19:02
But I'm sorry, it's not your music that sets you apart. He didn't
19:07
say, by your facilities will everybody know that you're my disciples, because you might have
19:10
facilities or you might meet in a house like they did in Philemon's church.
19:13
In Colossae. That's not the big deal. God's not all that into buildings other
19:17
than the spiritual building that he's building, which is his church at this moment.
19:20
He did not say— pardon me— by the dynamic preaching
19:24
and sermons of, of your minister will you be known, because the popularity
19:28
of men always ebbs and flows, but the love of Jesus is always
19:32
the same. And he did not say— I'm sorry— by
19:35
your rigid standards and convictions and all the rules and regulations
19:40
that you enforce, everybody will know that you're my disciples. He didn't say that.
19:43
He said, by this one thing everybody will look at you and know you're one
19:46
of my followers when they see my love exhibited in your life.
19:50
Now I want to ask you a question. Does anybody see the love of Jesus
19:53
in you? Because this is the thing that changes
19:57
it all. For love's sake. May I show you what
20:01
kind of difference that love makes? The Bible says in Judas, some have compassion,
20:05
making a difference. Well, what kind of difference does it make? I'm glad you asked.
20:08
Would you look please at verse number 10? Look at verse 10. He says,
20:10
I beseech thee for my son, O whom
20:14
I have begotten in my bonds. Number 1, would you write this down? Maybe just
20:18
in the margin of your Bible. Number 1, for love's sake, a slave becomes a
20:22
son. Can I just say slaves didn't become sons? That doesn't happen.
20:26
But it does in God's family and God's economy.
20:29
Because here is a man who was a runaway slave, but now he
20:33
is seen as one of the family members. And would you look at the— would
20:36
you look at the humor? Don't tell me there's not humor in Scripture. Would you
20:39
look at the humor in this verse? He does not say, I beseech thee for
20:43
thy slave Onesimus. He says, I beseech thee for my
20:47
son Onesimus. I don't know about you. That's beautiful to
20:51
me. He doesn't call attention to his sin.
20:54
He calls attention to his salvation. He doesn't call attention
20:58
to his past. He calls attention to his present. He doesn't call attention to
21:03
what he used to be. He calls attention to what he is now
21:07
in Jesus Christ. Which is a member of the family of God.
21:11
How many of you know you're saved? Your name is written down in the Lamb's
21:14
Book of Life in heaven. Christ lives inside of you. Hey, if you die in
21:17
the next 5 minutes, you're going into the presence of God! How bad can it
21:21
be? May I tell you, it's for love's sake.
21:26
By the way, how did he get in the family? Well, it answers that too.
21:29
Look at the same verse. Whom I have— what's the next word, church?
21:32
Begotten in my bonds. He was birthed in the family.
21:36
Let me tell you how everybody gets in the family of God. Everybody gets in
21:39
the family of God the very same way. You have to be born again.
21:42
And I love this! Here's a grown man by the name of Onesimus that finds
21:46
himself in a prison cell and probably thinks life is coming to an end,
21:49
but instead of finding an ending, he finds a new beginning. Look,
21:52
our God is a God of new beginnings! And it
21:56
happens at the moment he meets the love of God. For love's
22:00
sake, A servant becomes a son.
22:04
I wish I had time to read with you Galatians chapter 3. You can read
22:08
it on your own and read on into chapter 4 where the servant,
22:11
the slave becomes a son. The Spirit of the Father comes to live inside
22:15
and cry out, Abba, Father! It's an amazing thing that those of us who are
22:18
outside of Christ, who are foreigners, who are aliens, who were
22:22
separated from God because of our sin have now been made—
22:26
brought nigh by the blood of Jesus Christ. I am
22:30
a member of the family! Why did the Son—
22:33
excuse me, please— why did the Son have to cry from the cross,
22:37
Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? My God, my God,
22:41
why hast Thou forsaken me? I'll answer that question tonight.
22:46
He was forsaken so that I could be taken in.
22:50
He was separated from His Father so that I could become a son
22:54
and become a member of the family. And I just want to stop right now
22:56
and say, I praise God! For the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.
23:00
Here's the next one. Look please at verse number 11. The Bible says,
23:04
which in time past was to thee unprofitable,
23:09
but now profitable to thee and to me. First,
23:12
for love's sake a slave becomes a son. Secondly, for love's
23:16
sake an unprofitable man becomes profitable. Somebody says, yeah,
23:19
but that's Onesimus' story. No, read Romans chapter 3, verse number 12.
23:23
The Bible says, there's none that doeth good, and we are altogether become—
23:27
guess what? Unprofitable. Let me tell you what you
23:30
are without Jesus Christ. You're an unprofitable person. I don't care how
23:34
hard you work, how good you become, you're unprofitable. Look at
23:38
the verse. He takes one who is unprofitable and makes him profitable.
23:42
You know what Onesimus' name actually meant? His name. You know, in Bible days,
23:45
names meant something. They didn't buy baby name books just to see if they liked
23:49
the sound of the name, you know? They meant something. Do you know that Onesimus'
23:53
name literally meant profitable.
23:56
There's a little play on words here, don't you see? The Apostle Paul says,
23:59
look, we didn't give him a new name, but he did get a new nature.
24:04
Years ago, his mama gave him this name and held that little innocent
24:08
baby in her arms and hoped that maybe this boy would grow up to be
24:11
a profitable man. But instead, he grew up to be a slave and then a
24:14
runaway slave. Good for nothing and incapable of accomplishing any
24:18
good. But when he met Jesus, for love's sake, God gave
24:22
him a new nature on the inside and suddenly made him profitable.
24:26
And I've marked in my Bible in verse 11, time past and now.
24:30
Aren't you glad you don't have to live in time past? Look, our God
24:34
is not a past tense God; our God's a present tense God. When He gave
24:37
His name, He didn't say, you tell them I was sent you. He said,
24:39
tell them I am sent you. Why? Because God's not living
24:43
in the past and neither should you. There is therefore now no condemnation to them
24:46
who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
24:49
For love's sake, you've been made profitable. And that's not all.
24:52
Would you look please at verse 12? Whom I have sent again. Thou therefore—
24:56
would you mark these 2 words? Receive him. For love's
25:00
sake, the runaway is now received. And by the way, these words are repeated.
25:04
Would you mark them? Verse 12, receive him.
25:07
Verse 15, receive him forever. Verse 17,
25:11
receive him as myself. Don't you love that progression?
25:14
Receive him. How long? Receive him forever. How shall we receive
25:18
him? Receive him just like you'd receive me. That, my friends, is what Jesus Christ
25:23
did for us because of his sacrifice at Calvary. Now I was running
25:27
away. I was headed as far away from God as I could get. And now
25:30
I've been brought nigh by the blood of Jesus Christ. I have been received through
25:33
Christ. Don't you see a beautiful picture of the prodigal son here? Way off yonder
25:37
in the far country. And yet, friends, look, when he looked towards the father's house,
25:41
Daddy took off, came off the porch and came running after him. That is a
25:44
picture of the marvelous grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.
25:49
And I want to stop tonight and just say, I sure am glad the Lord
25:53
has received me. He's brought me into His family.
25:57
In verse number 13 and verse number 14, he talks about this reception,
26:01
but I love the fact he keeps coming back to those 2 words, receive him,
26:04
receive him, receive him. I don't know how it was at your house growing up,
26:07
but at our house, if Mama said it once, we were supposed to listen.
26:10
And if she said it twice, we were really supposed to listen. And if
26:15
she said it 3 times, it was too late to listen. How many of you
26:17
understand what I'm talking about? Not good. When the Holy Ghost says something 3 times,
26:20
it's not because He forgot He said it the first time. It's because He doesn't
26:23
want us to forget it. And I want you to hear the voice of the
26:26
Holy Spirit whispering tonight and saying, because of Jesus, you're received.
26:31
You have access because of the Son. Through no other
26:34
means and through no other merit than the wonderful merit of Jesus Christ.
26:39
Spurgeon showed up one night to preach in a church and the place was so
26:42
packed and jammed he could not get in the building.
26:45
He went around the outside and he came to a side door.
26:48
He started in through the door and the usher saw him and pushed the door
26:51
open. Oh, Mr. Spurgeon, we've been waiting on you! There was a little boy,
26:54
little British boy kneeling by the door weeping. His hair was disheveled
26:58
and clothes were tattered and face was dirty and he's crying. And Spurgeon was a
27:02
tender-hearted man. He got down next to him and said, Son, what's the matter with
27:04
you? The little boy said, well, I came. I walked for miles tonight,
27:07
mister, to be in this meeting. He said, do you know the greatest preacher in
27:10
the world is preaching here tonight? Spurgeon smiled and said, is that right, son?
27:14
He said, that's right. The greatest preacher in the world. And he said, they won't
27:16
let me in. Said, there's no room for little boys like me. There's no more
27:19
room inside. They're full. I can't get in. Spurgeon stood
27:23
up and said, well, I'm going in. The little boy's eyes got big. He said,
27:26
you think you can get in? Spurgeon said, I think I can. He said,
27:30
would you like to go in with me? And the little boy said, do you
27:31
think that's possible? He said, it is. He said, son, you grab a hold of
27:35
my pant leg right here and hold on real tight. Wherever I go, you go.
27:37
You understand? Yes, sir, I understand. Spurgeon took off headed
27:41
towards that door. Usher swung it wide open. They went walking right through the same
27:45
door he'd been rebuffed at a moment ago. They come walking through the doors like
27:48
the parting of the Red Sea. People getting out of the way. Spurgeon made his
27:51
way to the platform, found his chair, and there was an empty seat next to
27:54
him on the, on the pulpit. And he set that little street boy right there
27:57
on the platform looking at all those hundreds of people. And they sat
28:01
there in silence for a moment and the little boy said, Mister, this is the
28:04
greatest thing that's ever happened to me! I've never been in anything like this before!
28:07
And he said, I do have one question for you. Where is Mr.
28:10
Spurgeon? And Spurgeon said, I'm Charles Spurgeon!
28:14
And in a moment I'm going to stand and I'm going to preach from that
28:16
desk and you're going to sit right here as my honored guest and hear the
28:19
message tonight. When I read that story I thought, well, that's sweet. And then the
28:22
Holy Spirit said to me, don't you understand that's exactly what Jesus Christ did for
28:25
for you. There was a day that I came to the door and I tried
28:29
every door, every means of access, and they said, sorry, you can't get in here.
28:32
Sorry, you can't come that way. Sorry, there's no entrance, no admittance here.
28:36
And then Jesus came to me and said, I'm going in. Would you like to
28:39
go in with me? And on the day that I became one with Jesus Christ,
28:42
on that day I walked right into the holiest of all, into the very throne
28:46
room of Almighty God. I'm seated tonight in
28:49
heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And how did it happen? Because on
28:54
that cross Jesus Christ took a holy God in one hand and fallen humanity in
28:57
the other and made a way so that we could be one again in Jesus
29:01
Christ! There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
29:05
Jesus! And I want to say tonight, I'm glad that I have that nail-pierced hand
29:09
in my hand and He's holding me in His! The runaway
29:13
becomes received. That's not all. Look please at verse 15: For
29:17
perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest
29:21
receive him forever. Would you write this one down? For love's sake,
29:24
the one that was lost for a season is saved forever.
29:26
He'd been gone a little while.
29:30
He wasted some years. He wasted some time wandering in the darkness of
29:34
sin. But praise God, he didn't waste it all, because look at the last
29:37
2 words of verse 15: forever, forever,
29:40
forever! Jesus said when you come to Christ,
29:44
He gives you eternal life. And you shall never perish.
29:48
The day I got saved, I got everlasting life and I've never spent it up
29:51
and I never will! And a million years from tonight, I'm going to be with
29:54
Jesus and I'm looking forward to that! And somebody said, how'd that happen to
29:58
you? For love's sake. And that's not all! Look please at verse
30:02
number 16: Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother
30:06
beloved, especially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh
30:10
and in the Lord. For love's sake, the servant becomes a brother. I love this!
30:13
First he's a servant, but he's not a servant now. He's a
30:17
member of the family. He has the same Father. He's a free man. He belongs.
30:21
And sometimes people want to come and they have this
30:25
idea, well, I'm going to come to Jesus and I'm going to do my best.
30:28
Listen to me, please. Listen to me, please. The Lord doesn't
30:31
have any hired servants in His house. You remember that prodigal
30:35
showing up at the doorstep of the father? Father, I've sinned against heaven and in
30:38
thy sight. I'm no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one
30:41
of thy hired servants. Did you ever notice the father cut him off? Before that
30:44
last phrase, and I'm going to tell you why. Because God has no hired
30:49
servants. All of His servants are bondservants and they're there for love's
30:53
sake. I'm going to tell you why we do what we do. It's not because
30:56
we have to; it's because we want to because He first loved us.
31:00
For love's sake! Look please at verse number 17: If thou count
31:05
me therefore a partner, I love it, receive him as myself.
31:10
For love's sake, the one that was known by his name is now known by
31:14
another's name.
31:16
There was a day I was known by my sin,
31:19
but I'm not known by my sin anymore in heaven. Now I'm known by His
31:22
righteousness. And can I tell you, I sure am glad to have His righteousness on
31:26
my account. I was driving through Beckley years
31:29
ago. I was just a kid and had my mother and my sister in the
31:33
car with me. I was driving too fast. And my mother said to
31:37
me, you're gonna get a ticket. She's a prophetess. She spoke evil into my life.
31:42
At that moment, the siren went off behind me. I looked
31:46
up in the rearview mirror and sure enough, those lights were on. You know that
31:48
sick feeling in the pit of your stomach? How many of you know it?
31:50
All you sinners, raise your hand. That's right. You've been there. I pulled off into
31:53
an empty bank parking lot and the guy came up. He wasn't very nice.
31:56
He said, I need your driver's license. And my sister's laughing her head off
32:00
in the back seat. It was the greatest day of her life. It was like
32:02
Christmas. I was nervous. I gave it to him and he
32:06
went back to the car. He was back there for a little while and he
32:07
came back up and he looked at my license, looked at me, looked at my
32:10
license, looked at me. He said, you Roger Paulley's boy?
32:14
I thought, I wonder if he knew my dad before he got saved or after
32:17
he got saved. And I said, yes sir, I am.
32:21
And he smiled. For the first time in the whole conversation, he smiled.
32:25
Kind of winked at me, handed me the driver's license. He said, slow it down,
32:28
son. Have a good day. I heard angelic choirs sing the Hallelujah Chorus.
32:32
It was wonderful! And at that moment my
32:37
father's good name was on my account.
32:42
I deserved a ticket. I deserved everything that was coming to me.
32:47
But my dad's good name meant something that day.
32:51
And I want to tell you something. I have a first father. His name's Adam.
32:54
And far too many days when I look in the mirror, that's who I see.
32:56
But on my record in heaven, Adam's name's not there anymore. No,
33:00
There's another name there. I've got a new Father and
33:04
it's His name. And I love what Paul writes. He said,
33:08
receive Him as myself. And some people say, I'm not worthy.
33:11
I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy. No, welcome to the club. You're not worthy.
33:15
But let me tell you who is worthy. His name is Jesus. And God receives
33:20
you like He receives His own Son. This is grace! Here's the
33:24
last one. Would you look at verse 18: If he hath wronged thee, or oweth
33:27
thee ought,
33:31
Put that on mine account. Would you write this down for love's
33:35
sake? A man in debt now lives on credit. How many of you
33:39
know there's a big difference between having a debt and having a credit?
33:41
I'm going to tell you, when a sinner comes to God, he comes
33:45
with a great debt, but that debt, friends, has already been paid in
33:49
full. As a matter of fact, when Christ cried from the cross to Talaithai,
33:52
it is finished, that literally is what He was saying. It has been Stamp!
33:56
Paid in full! Watch this. And when you come to the Lord Jesus—
33:59
you ready?— He takes all of your debt and He gives you all of His
34:03
credit. How many of you know Jesus has a lot of credit?
34:07
And the only credit I have is Jesus.
34:11
Mr. Scofield said it this way, Jesus takes all my demerit
34:16
and I take all His merit. He takes all
34:20
the bad and I take all the good.
34:24
He takes all the darkness. I take all the light. He takes all the death.
34:27
I take all the life. Somebody said, that doesn't sound fair. That's not fair.
34:30
That's for love's sake. And on Calvary,
34:34
all of my sin was placed on Jesus. And then all
34:38
of God's wrath was put on my sin on Jesus. And somebody says,
34:42
well, what do you get in return? You just get Jesus.
34:46
And friends, Jesus is enough. And it might do some of
34:50
us some good to go back in our minds 20, 30 years and remember the
34:53
day we got saved and not get over that. Let me tell you what will
34:56
stir you to want to see other people saved and have a part in it,
34:58
is to have the joy of his salvation fresh in your own soul.
35:02
To rejoice again in the goodness and mercy of God. I didn't come
35:06
tonight to plead with you for my sake or your pastor's sake or the church's
35:10
sake. I'm sorry. I didn't even come tonight to present the needs of the world
35:14
because I might stir a little pity in you, but that will wear off somewhere.
35:17
I know what I'm talking about here. But there's one thing that if it ever
35:21
gets a hold of you, it'll change your life forever! And that is for love's
35:25
sake, for Christ's sake, for the worthy name of
35:29
Jesus who made a way that all men could be saved
35:32
and come to the knowledge of the truth! This is the message of Philemon.
35:36
This is the message of the whole Bible. And I'm done,
35:39
but I want you to turn back to Colossians chapter 4. I've quoted
35:43
from it all day today. It's interesting, but that's where Philemon
35:47
lived, you see, was in Colossae. And I'll tell you more about it in our
35:50
study, but I just want to leave you with a verse.
35:53
When you finish reading Philemon, you might want to read Colossians. You're going to see
35:56
a whole lot of parallels. But look at Colossians chapter 4 and verse number 9.
36:00
A lot of the same names found in Philemon are found in Colossians chapter 4.
36:04
And right in the middle of it, he says in verse 9,
36:08
with Onesimus, And I
36:12
want you to look how he's called. Look what his eternal epitaph is.
36:16
Praise Jesus! What grace! A faithful and
36:22
beloved brother. Wait a minute! I thought he was an
36:26
unfaithful slave! I thought he was a hated sinner! No, no! He is a
36:30
faithful and beloved brother. And here's
36:34
the great phrase. You ready? Who is one of you?
36:40
Would you look at me just a moment? I don't know most of you,
36:42
but can I just tell you, I sure am glad to be one of you
36:46
today. What does it mean to you to
36:49
be one of you? What does it mean
36:52
when you invite people to your church and invite people to become one of you?
36:57
What does it mean when you give a gospel tract and share your testimony,
36:59
invite somebody to come to Jesus, that you're inviting them to become one of you?
37:02
Oh, my friend, You're inviting them to discover the beautiful
37:06
grace and mercy and goodness of God
37:11
for love's sake.
37:15
The great evangelist D.L. Moody stood one night before
37:20
a congregation. Here's what he said,
37:24
if any church will have the blessing— let
37:28
those words sink in just a moment. Let's take a
37:32
church vote. How many of you would like this church to have the blessing?
37:36
How many of you would like your kids and grandkids to have the blessing of
37:38
the Lord? Hear the words of Mr. Moody.
37:42
He said, if any church would have the blessing,
37:45
they must lay aside all difference,
37:49
all envy and jealousy and party feeling, and come
37:54
to the Lord as one man,
37:57
And then here's what he said, and if that church will
38:02
on their knees read 1 Corinthians 13 and
38:06
live in the power of that chapter of love,
38:09
I am very sure that many will be added to the fellowship of that church.
38:15
And I came tonight to tell your church, a church that I do not know,
38:18
I've known it but 24 hours,
38:22
But if this church wants the blessing and if this church wants to
38:26
be a blessing, then this church must
38:29
learn the great motivator,
38:33
must learn to live and labor and pray and give and go
38:40
for love's sake,
38:44
for love's sake.
38:58
If this Bible message has been used of God in your life or we
39:02
can pray for you in some definite way, please contact us at
39:06
enjoyingthejourney.org. We hope you will share the
39:10
message with others who may also be encouraged by it. For additional full-length
39:13
Bible messages, please visit Dr. Scott Pauley's YouTube channel.
39:17
Tomorrow is the Lord's Day, and we want to encourage you to
39:21
be faithful to attend a Bible-preaching church in your area this Sunday.
39:25
Thank you for listening to The Weekend Pulpit, and don't
39:29
miss Enjoying the Journey daily devotional podcast each Monday through Friday.